noblescent

a personal blog

Qurban.

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِيم

(Dear Mr Along. If you're reading this, didn't I warn you?)

amek semangat kambing - hidup dan mati for Allah to serve humankind
alhamdulillah..syukur ke hadrat illahi aku masih ada sebab untuk hidup.
sebab = reason. when you have a reason for doing and being something, you're giving yourself a meaning. "Meaning" is what we constantly create and seek for. Amazing is the affair of the mukmin. Small deeds are not trivialized. Why? Because we were taught that every act can become meaningful when you set yourself up for with the right intention.

Innama 'amalu binniyat. Every action is judged by the intention. May Allah make us among the living and not the dead walking. 

macam tu jugak la situasinya sebelum kita melangkah ke dlm sepuluh hari Zulhijjah. One of the natures that insan possesses is forgetfulness. To cure indolence, sometimes it takes some reminding of ourselves :)

Hajj is a spiritual journey which emulates certain rituals performed by a man (Nabi Ibrahim), woman (Hajar) and child (Nabi Ismail ).  Today, we see the same thing being practiced by men, women and children all over the world who sacrifice their money, time and energy to get to the lifeless city that once was and re-live the legacy. It is a day to remind ourselves that our love for Allah should precede the world and everything that's in it, including the love for human beings; family, children...Subhanallah. Dan teladan yg terbaik semuanya dah di bentang untuk kita sebagai panduan, ambil kisah Nabi ibrahim, Hajar dan Ismail alayhissalam dan Nabi Ibrahim bersama ayahandanya.


"Allah has not made for a man two hearts in his interior (...)" Al-Ahzab 33:4


Ustazah Fatimah pernah pesan "Tanyakan diri setiap hari, apa yang dah aku buat untuk Islam hari ini"
Apa yang dah aku korban.
Apa yang dah aku korban.
Apa yang dah aku korban.
Bila aku nak start berkorban apa saja ni.

A lot of first experiences. 

 Eid ul Adha this year was probably the most meaningful one I've had so far. Alhamdulillah :)

1. Back in Malaysia I was never encouraged to watch the slaughter because it was all crowded with men. But this year, it was my first time ever tengok biri2 kena korban...11 or 12 of them, live. I was at the muslim slaughter house from 10-ish to 5-ish pm. Sangat sejuk. Tabik kat mereka yang volunteer utk tolong. Moga semua amalan kita diberkahi. Saat kita tak sampai hati tgk biri2 tu kena sembilih, ustaz reminded us "Haih..buat pa nak kesian. Binatang ni beribadat kat Allah lebih daripada kita." Maashallah.

2. Singgah tiga universiti :) Iowa State Uni, Drake Uni dan U of Iowa..alhamdulillah saya dpt raamai kawan baru. Saya dah kakak, rupa-rupanya. Ramai yang datang adalah adek2 yang lahir tahun 1992, 1993. Syukur, alhamdulillah I've come along this far into my study. 

3. Em..I kinda got proposed by seorang aunty Bosnian dari Good Will store. Niat nak cari blazer je. I bumped into her when she entered the store and gave a smile while saying salam. She replied my salam in her purdah. The second time I bumped into her she asked 
"You're Muslim?" 
me : "Yes, alhamdulillah. Eid Mubarak!." 
Aunty : "I don't know. Sorry I don't speak English. Do you have a ring?"
me : "Err..no. (...while showing my hand. I meant to say, I just lost my ring in the car yesterday, aunty. T_T)"
Aunty : "I have a son with me. He is tall"

Subhanallah cuak kejap. Mama slowly and awkwardly departed from the scene with her gulp-smile. I entertained her for a while and respectfully declined. I mean, she's my sister of faith! Bila fikir balik, kan..
  • With some events occurring lately, I can only say that Allah's timing is perfect, subhanallah.
  • Smiles and salaams go along way
  • May Allah don't test us beyond what we can bare
  • You have a choice. Allah's given you the freedom to choose and the rest,
  • ...fa idza 'azzamta fatawakkal alallah
4. Eid in conjunction of some serious formal-attire hunting. Now that I'm no longer living with mama, I gotta have my own blazer, slacks, handbag, blouses and good shoes. Mama and I are like sisters. So we pretty much share our things. But now it's about time I get my own space and things. I've a four day conference to attend next week and I can't be snatching all of mama stuff. Being the drama queen I am, I asked mama "Ma, how do feel about me getting a blazer? Don't you feel all teared up now that anak mama's finally getting clothes for interviews, conferences and work". She gave a thought and said "Ummmm. No." (Yeah, it sucks a bit when people don't want to play along with you. Hehe). Totally felt like a grown woman for a moment there.

5. Went to rumah Ahgam and it was like curry fever there. With the meat provided, my Drake friends prepared kari kambing, sup kambing, rendang kambing. 

Muslim Slaughter House within Drake provincial area - my bodyguards as first timers :)

Malaysian Cultural Night Iowas State Uni, Ames  - with my sweet angels

Alhamdulillah..the weekend gate away was priceless. 

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